More Maori-Inspired Graffiti

Tokomaru Bay, East Cape. May 2009 Ajr

I touched on the subject of Maori-inspired graffiti here a couple of weeks ago (click on graffiti in the label line below to reads that if you're interested). That post came about in response to a comment someone else had made about never having seen any 'Maori graffiti.' Whether you call the above graffiti or street art is a moot point but one thing is for sure, there's an all-pervading 'Maoriness' to everything about it. I took these photographs in gorgeous Tokomaru Bay, which is a small seaside town with a large Maori population, about 91 kilometres north of Gisborne on East Cape. The local Maori, Te Whanau-a-Ruataupare have four active marae within the community; and the main town centre is more or less in the middle of the big horseshoe bay, which provides the locals with eight kilometres of golden, sandy beach.